Fun on Facebook

I have to admit, I love Facebook. I love the fact that I can find old friends, many family members are on there, and it isn't nearly as 'catty' or childish as MySpace. I don't like the fact that random people can 'befriend' you on MySpace. It seems that Facebook is not a place that you can do that.

Anyhow, if you are reading this, and you don't have a Facebook account, maybe you should give it a shot!

A New Tattoo and One Silly Kitty

When I knew that Ellie was truly nearing the end of her days, I made the decision to try and keep her memory as fresh in my mind as I could. One day, while sitting outside with her on a blanket in the back yard, I made a print of her paw - just a little black ink and some card stock. Nothing fancy. Ellie died later that week. When I had the energy to begin looking, I went to tattoo studios around Rochester to see who could offer me the best options for using this print as a tattoo. So many said that they could take me immediately, and wanted to charge upwards of $150 for a 'custom' tattoo... something to watch for... if someone says they can take you immediately, how custom is it really going to be? Also, $150? For something so small?

Anyhow, I went back to a group of artists that I had checked out many years ago and found exactly what I was looking for. I came across Dawn Kelley's art at Lucky Lotus Tattoo Studio http://www.luckylotustattoo.com/ and knew right away that she was the exact person I wanted for this tattoo. Take a look at her work if you like by clicking on her name above. This was back in September...

Today was the day. Time for the ink! So, I nervously went down to the city to meet with Dawn - I had no idea what she would look like - though I assumed she would be much older and a bit more 'hardcore' based on her work that I had seen... I was really surprised to see how young she was, and how comfortable I was with her! You never know what you will run into at a tattoo studio! She was great. She made me feel very at ease and worked quickly and quite painlessly (as much as possible when you have a needle poking you a zillion times a second...). Before I knew it, she was finished, and when I went to pay for the work, she only charged me $50.00. That is less than I paid for EITHER of my other two tattoos, AND this one was completely custom. I am so pleased that I chose her, and that I have this lifelong reminder of my Ellie with me.

I have another appointment with Steve Shales (also at Lucky Lotus - if I am correct, he owns the studio) this coming March to do some work to cover a tattoo that I got without thinking much about it. I got a tattoo a few years back because I wanted to have something in common with my sister Loren - so I got the same tattoo that she had. It is a simple kanji symbol... one that I have seen on a dozen plus people now. Anyhow, he is a master of cover up work, and I think that I will get something a little more me. At this point, I think that I will have him do a sea turtle - something that we really enjoyed while on our honeymoon in Maui - not to mention, something that was also in the movie Finding Nemo - Lanie's first movie ever that she saw...

On another note... what the heck is wrong with this kitten? You have to understand... I had the time to find my camera case, take the camera out, take the lens cap off, turn the camera on, focus, get close enough and snap TWO photos of her like this... this cat is NOT normal! Totally cute though!

Holiday get together and a visit from Sinterklaas and Fart Piet

I just wanted to share a few photos from a family visit the other weekend. Dad, Paula, Shawna, Garret, Cassie, Zachary and Trevor all came out for dinner and gingerbread house making with Lanie. All of us enjoyed playing a few rounds of Rock Band (who doesn't love that!) but most of all, it was nice to have everyone together. It has been a long while since we had seen everyone!

We also had a get together this past weekend with some of Lanie's closest friends and their parents (our friends!). It is amazing to watch the kids grow up. We have known Lucie since she was only maybe 3 months old, and Anthony when he was maybe 6 months old... The kids were really surprised to receive a visit from Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet (Lanie pronounces it Fart Pete). They didn't actually SEE them come, but before the night was over, the kids found that their shoes had been filled with candy and toys. After all, it WAS December 5th...

I should be putting more photos up on the blog throughout the holidays. We have a number of family events coming up so stay tuned for more!

Hi Uncle Chris!

I know that you read this, and I just wanted to say HI!

;-)

Why are horses put together so wrong

Rest my friend. Rest.

When God made horses, I think he was still practicing. I am of course not judging the Lord at all. I just still don't understand how it is that they are so huge, so majestic, and yet so frail. One wrong move, and a horse is gone. Sadly, this is the case with an old friend. My friend, a great horse, and the partner of one of my closest friends has passed away as of this morning from an infection. A stupid infection - how is it that such a thing could become systemic and lethal in such a short amount of time? How is it that these huge, majestic and beautiful creatures become so crippled by such simple things? My sweet Bay, the little farty mouthed boy that you were, you are already so missed. I don't know of a kinder horse that side of the thruway, Mav, and I am so sorry that we won't see you again. My heart goes out to Vicki right now... I am so sorry.

I am SO EXCITED

I just found out that my artwork was on the news!!! Take a look at the link below for the newscast!

http://rochesterhomepage.net/media_player.php?media_id=109361

I am really pleased and had to share this with everyone!

A cute link to a Dutch store

Hema

Click on the word HEMA above and take a look at their newest ad campaign. I used to LOVE this store when I was living in Holland. I thought this was really cute - cute enough to add it to the blog.


Just another mention... I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE ANNUAL HOLIDAY PARTY AT THE BLASIO HOUSEHOLD! WOOWOO! Just a little shout out to my girl Kate... :-D

Congratulations!

I just wanted to say congratulations to the Sun City Senior Softball Champions! My Dad (and his teammates).

Nice job!!!

The mural is complete

This is the Public Safety Building where the mural was painted

This is the mural that I painted. It is about 6'x6'

This is me taking a photo of the image being projected on the wall (with my profile too)

Not that it was too difficult to do, but here is a photo of my first paid job as a mural artist. They may be calling me to add more to it if they get permission to add the emblems for their partners (I believe the partners are : DEA, FBI, CSI ... there may be more, but I don't know what they are). That would be great to be able to paint more and get paid for it! I still can't believe that I got paid to do this! It did however take a lot longer than I thought it would. I thought it would take 2-3 hours, but I was way off. It took me closer to 8 hours, but still, very worth the money.

Sooooo.... if you know of anyone who would like me to paint a mural for them, let me know! I am starting to get the hang of this!

Boy, I will tell you that it was an interesting experience being within the inner confines of the police department. I heard, saw and smelled a lot of things! Yes, smelled... at one point, the overwhelming odor of marijuana filled the air. Apparently they had brought in some pot plants and they were in the room next to the one I was painting in. What a strong smell! I mean, it was EVERYWHERE... must have been one hell of a plant! Some conversations I heard were pretty hard to listen to. One was about having to tell a family that the death of someone they cared for was being treated like a murder... then there were all kinds of conversations about heroin deals and drug interceptions. What i found most interesting though was the 'creed' that was posted inside of the elevator - something like 'maintaining a level of integrity at all times'... yet, I heard the word f*ck used in so many ways, it was, at best, uncomfortable! Nonetheless, I personally was treated very well by everyone there. One of the federal agents made sure that I didn't go hungry - every time I turned around there were more Thin Mints for me to eat! All in all, it was a great experience. I will actually miss going down there, even only after just two days of painting.

Yay Freelance Work!

Thank you Michelle for connecting me with someone who needs a pretty simple mural painted... I certainly appreciate the opportunity for the cash flow, and love the chance to create some art in the community!!! I will post the photos at the end of the week when I am done with the painting.

The painting, by the way, will be located inside the Public Safety Building here in Monroe County! Talk about Art in Public!!! :-D

YAYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!

I think that says it all!

VOTE

...for OBAMA!!!

Don't be a fool... when McCain dies from ill health, or is deemed incapable to run the country due to senility, do you REALLY want PALIN running the country? Maybe you do, and that is the beauty of the vote, but please, make your vote count!

"Am I a hooker?"

..that is what Lanie said to me yesterday when she had her costume on. She meant that she had a hook on her hand, and wanted to know if that is what we would call her! I kept trying to tell her that the term Hooker was not what she thought it meant... she didn't catch on ;-)

Unix

Hi everyone -

Robin reminded me that I had not updated the blog to reflect what has been going on with Unix, so I have to assume that there are others out there who would like to know as well. Luckily, we caught the blockage in time, and Unix survived the treatment, and should live a normal, healthy life. He is prone to these issues, so we have to change his food and keep him on a prescription food from now on. That is too bad, as we were happy to not have to feed prescription $$$ anymore now that Ellie has passes away. Guess that was a short lived pleasure. Oh well.

He is home now, and is really lovey. He missed us, and we missed him too. That was a hard 5 days without him!

I also wanted to say HAPPY HALLOWEEN to all of you out there. As I write this, I am sitting here, in scrubs with a stethescope around my neck, and a surgery bandana on my head! Goodness, these clothes are cozy. We had our Halloween parade at school today which was a lot of fun. The kids were all great, and we went as a group and walked around the block through the neighborhood. All in all, it was an enjoyable experience.

I also should note that I may take a couple days off from the blog next week. I have minor surgery on Monday to have an implant done in my mouth. Wheeee.... I can't wait. Soft foods here I come! I hear that it is not too bad of a procedure, so we shall see. My Dr. gave me Valium to allow me to be sedated for the surgery, so I hope that it does help. I don't think that I have ever taken Valium before, so I am nervous that it won't work. The Dr. Also told me that if I think it won't work, then it won't! That is not good!!!!!!!

That's all for now... Happy Tricks or Treats, peeps!

Zoo Boo and a visit with my niece, Alyssa, and my rant on BS vet charges

By the way, that Holly Hobbie Costume was mine when I was her age - I 'think' my mom made it for me :-)

Ok, I will start with the good stuff - I saw my niece Alyssa on Wednesday. The poor kid has two parents who are not fit to be people, much less parents. She has moved from place to place to place, and I just hope that she still has a chance to be a good person - she has not been shown how to be that yet!

Also, We went to the zoo today with Lanie and our close friends Chris, Sara, Andy and Ryan. It was a perfect day, not too warm, not too cool, and not too many people (when we got there at least!) We were even treated to a really nice elephant show! I hope that you enjoy the pictures!

I don't have any updates on Unix at the moment, but will be sure to let you know as soon as I have any information. He is still at the vet today, and will likely be coming home tomorrow. Part of me wants to hold a huge party and have a raffle or something for a 50/50 to help pay for this! I mean, it would go for animal welfare, right? In all honesty though, I have checked into insurance which is so costly, and I am also going to write a letter to the editor of the Rochester paper (as I mentioned in another post) to comment on the unfair additional costs of the care that he received. Get this - this is directly from the bill:

EMERGENCY EXAM $85.00
TRIAGE $5.00
KIDNEY PANEL EMERGENCY $64.70
RADIOGRAPH $110.00
CATHETER-PERIPHERAL $42.65
IV SET BASIC $16.00
IV NORMASOL $10.00
FLUIDS/FLUID PUMP $37.40
HOSPITILIZATION FELINE/EXOTICS 33.60
PROFESSIONAL TREATMENT CLASS 3 $52.30 NURSING CARE MANAGEMENT $15.00
ANESTHESIA LEVEL 2 $140.25
HYDROMORPHONE INJ 2 MG/ML $1.33
MIDAZOLAM $4.53
KETAMINE HCL 100 MG/ML $1.88

UR. OBST. CATHETERIZATION $95.30
INJECTION SERIES $23.35
MEDICAL WASTE FEE $2.00
BUPRENORPHINE $8.30
DIBENZYLINE $20.58
ORAL MEDICATION ADMINISTRATION $13.17
DVM EVALUATION $33.60

So, I bolded some of the above information because these are the charges, in particular, that I don't quite get... $13.17 to put a pill in his throat? Isn't that what should be covered under the HOSPITALIZATION fee? What the hell is Nursing Care Management? I didn't know that there were NURSES in there - just techs. Also, why are we paying a fee for a Vet evaluation AND professional treatment? I mean, don't those seem to be the same thing? I will be calling them shortly to ask them to go over each and every charge on the invoice to have them explain exactly what we paid for. The other charges, in comparison to taking him to our vet, are at about 3x the normal cost. THAT is robbery. Just because he got sick at night, people have to pay more to help their pet? I mean, if I realize at 10pm that I need milk, does Wegmans charge me 3x as much for it? There are NO other after hours options for animals, and it seems to me that if we just did nothing, we could be actually brought up on animal cruelty charges for letting our cat suffer until we could afford to care for him! Maybe it seems like I am on a rampage, but well, I am pissed. When I send my letter to the D&C, I will put a copy in the blog.

$$$

Update - so far, some crystals in Unix's urethra have cost us over $800, and we have not even seen him through the first 24 hours. We transferred him from the emergency clinic who was charging us by the minute I think, to our own vet. Unix is a mess at the moment and has tubes sticking out of every possible orifice the poor guy. Hopefully the move to the new vet will save us a few hundred dollars, but only time will tell. We should know more later or tomorrow, but they do expect him to survive what has happened.

After looking at the bill from the emergency vet though, I think I may have to write a letter to the editor of the local Rochester paper. I saw charges on there that seem really strange - facility fee, nurse fee, exam fee, room fee, triage fee, fee fee... I mean, I think I saw a breathing fee on there too! Seriously though, when your cat or animal has an emergency, it is already traumatic on the whole family - then to be hit with fees that are well beyond reasonable, then it only makes it worse. When I told our vet what we were being charged, she gasped - and that is coming from an all cat vet who already charges more than some other vets... that is not a good sign

Unix update

Unix is in surgery now at 11pm on a Friday. He is having his bladder drained, and has a massive blockage, which if we had not brought him to the vets, he would have most likely died from tonight. The vet feels as though we caught this in time, and that he will survive, and has stated that he is otherwise healthy. The vet just called as I was writing this and asked me if I gave permission to let Aubrey put the 'deposit' for the procedures on my card - the 'deposit' is $400. I can't even imagine what the actual cost of the services will be. I guess it is time for me to find a night job or weekend job to help pay for our family. Teaching alone isn't going to cut it if we keep having these kinds of emergencies coming up. It unfortunately seems to be more of a rule and an exception these days.

They want to keep Unix for at least 48 hours on a catheter, and chances are we will bring him to our own vet tomorrow. I am grateful that we didn't wait to take him though. Chances are, even if he were alive in the morning, he would not have survived the damage to his kidneys, liver and heart. We are not out of the woods yet, as he could still not survive the draining procedure, and he could also have this happen again.

If you have male cats, please research their diets. Apparently, magnesium can cause this in cats. Additionally, I have read a LARGE number of people who had fed their cats a Purina diet have had this happen. Unix does not eat Purina, but I am unsure about the magnesium levels. You can be sure that I will check them tomorrow, and will focus on a very careful diet for ALL of our cats. The upfront cost for GOOD food is worth it in the long run.

Scared, and confused, again

It seems like I write this kind of story more often this year than any other. In October of 2007, Obie, our 9 year old kitty died from Lymphoma. In August of 2008, my lifelong kitty friend Ellie died of Chronic Renal Failure at age 16, and today, our sweet boy Unix was rushed into emergency treatment for what we believe to be a urinary blockage, which is often fatal in cats. He is at the overnight vet now with Aubrey, and I am waiting to hear what is happening with him. He has never in the 9+ years I have known him, growled. Not once. Today, he screamed out and growled at us. He cried out, howled and growled. He is in a lot of pain, and was licking at his bottom when we got home from dinner tonight.

I will write more when I know more, and I hope that I have positive news, and not more sadness to share. I can't believe that we are again this year going through trauma with another cat. For those of you who read this and don't understand the value of a cat in the family, the concern doesn't even make sense to you, so there is no sense in having you read the post at all. For those of you who have the understanding, you know what we are going through now.

I am particularly frustrated at the moment. He has been on antibiotic after antibiotic for UTI's (Urinary tract infections) - every vet we have seen has put him on the same thing. It seems to me that a cat with recurring UTI's ought to be looked at a bit closer, don't you think? I mean, one UTI, ok, put him on antibiotics. 2 UTI's, do it again, but watch really closely - 3 or 4 in a row? Seems to me that something is wrong. I should have been a vet - it seems as though I can't have true faith those out there who are... I understand that they are overwhelmed in their craft, but if I don't do MY job well, there is someone else out there who can come in and take my place... why should it be any different for anyone else? Maybe I am wrong but right now, I am so scared, frustrated and just praying that Unix will be OK, and that we can AFFORD to make sure that he becomes and stays that way. I have read so many stories about people who had cats with the same condition that I think Unix has, and they had to put their cat, their family member to sleep because of the cost to help them... and the vets that they saw would not help the animal because of this... the $$$

I can't judge my new vet, because I can only hope that their practice would be more caring and helpful if the need arises, but I have seen all too many vets who won't even look at an animal without the credit card being placed on the counter. Shit, I don't tell parents that I won't look at their child and teach them until I see a paycheck! What the hell has the world come to... nobody does anything for anyone else until they know that THEY will be paid ... pathetic. When you DIE, you can't take the $ with you, you know. What will GOD say when you get there? Will He ask how much $ you made, or will He ask what YOU did to help others? And, by others, I mean ANY living creatures.

Maybe I am on a rampage now, but I have seen perfectly save-able animals die because the owner or whoever did not have the $ or did not want to pay to save the animal, and the vet took the easy route.
Please send a warm thought or a prayer in Unix's direction. He really needs it.

A crane for all occasions

Catherine, Stacy and Trina at Stony Brook State Park - might I add, those are some mighty fine heineys....

and yet another day goes by where a crane photo was taken... there are some things in life that can not be missed...


I must add, being at this park the past two days reminded me of a dear friend who passed away a few months ago. The last (and I believe only) time I went to this park was with my mom, sister, and my mom's boyfriend at the time, Jimmy Burns. I remember that we took the mats out of the car to use as waterslide mats - Stonybrook has a lot of natural waterslides. Anyhow, after attending the calling hours the other night for David, I had to think a bit about those I love, and those who are no longer with us. If you read this post, take a minute to pick up the phone and call someone you have not talked to in a while. Life is too short to miss the opportunity to say hello to those you care about.